Ancient Rome The word pantomime was adopted from the
Latin word
pantomimus, which in turn derives from the
Greek word
παντόμιμος (
pantomimos), consisting of
παντο- (
panto-) meaning "all", and
μῖμος (
mimos), meaning a dancer who acted all the roles or all the story. The
Roman pantomime drew upon the
Greek tragedy and other Greek genres from its inception, although the art was instituted in
Ancient Rome and little is known of it in pre-Roman Greece. The English word came to be applied to the performance itself. According to a lost oration by
Aelius Aristides, the pantomime was known for its erotic content and the effeminacy of its dancing; Aristides's work was responded to by
Libanius, in his oration "On Behalf of the Dancers", written probably around 361 AD. Roman pantomime was a production, usually based upon myth or legend, for a solo male dancer—clad in a long silk tunic and a short mantle (
pallium) that was often used as a
"prop"—accompanied by a sung
libretto (called the
fabula saltica or "dance-story") rendered by a singer or
chorus (though
Lucian states that originally the pantomime himself was the singer). Music was supplied by flute and the
pulse of an iron-shod shoe called a
scabellum. Performances might be in a private household, with minimal personnel, or else lavish theatrical productions involving a large orchestra and chorus and sometimes an ancillary actor. The dancer danced all the roles, relying on masks, stock poses and gestures and a hand-language (cheironomy) so complex and expressive that the pantomime's hands were commonly compared to an eloquent mouth. Pantomime differed from
mime by its more artistic nature and relative lack of farce and coarse humour, Yet, because of the limits imposed upon Roman citizens' dance, the populism of its song-texts and other factors, the art was as much despised as adored, Because of the low status and the disappearance of its
libretti, the Roman pantomime received little modern scholarly attention until the late 20th century, despite its great influence upon Roman culture as perceived in Roman art, in statues of famous dancers, graffiti, objects and literature.
gender role reversal, and good defeating evil. Precursors of pantomime also included the
masque, which grew in pomp and spectacle from the 15th to the 17th centuries.
''Commedia dell'arte'' and early English adaptation as Harlequin, The development of English pantomime was also strongly influenced by the continental ''
commedia dell'arte, a form of popular theatre that arose in Italy in the Early Modern Period. This was a "comedy of professional artists" travelling from province to province in Italy and then France, who improvised and told comic stories that held lessons for the crowd, changing the main character depending on where they were performing. Each "scenario" used some of the same stock characters. These included the (young lovers); the vecchi'' (old men) such as
Pantalone; and (servants) such as
Arlecchino,
Colombina,
Scaramouche and
Pierrot. Italian masque performances in the 17th century sometimes included the
Harlequin character. In the 17th century, adaptations of the commedia characters became familiar in English entertainments. From these, the standard English
harlequinade developed, depicting the eloping lovers
Harlequin and
Columbine, pursued by the girl's father
Pantaloon and his comic servants
Clown and
Pierrot. In English versions, by the 18th century, Harlequin became the central figure and romantic lead. The basic plot of the harlequinade remained essentially the same for more than 150 years, except that a bumbling policeman was added to the chase. This production was not a success, and Weaver waited until 1716 to produce his next pantomimes, including
The Loves of Mars and Venus – a new Entertainment in Dancing after the manner of the Antient Pantomimes. In 1717 at Lincoln's Inn, actor and manager
John Rich introduced
Harlequin into the theatres' pantomimes under the name of "Lun" (for "lunatic"). He gained great popularity for his pantomimes, especially beginning with his 1724 production of
The Necromancer; or, History of Dr. Faustus. These early pantomimes were silent, or "dumb show", performances consisting of only dancing and gestures. Spoken drama was allowed in London only in the two (later three) patent theatres until Parliament changed this restriction in 1843. A large number of French performers played in London following the suppression of unlicensed theatres in Paris. The majority of these early pantomimes were re-tellings of a story from ancient Greek or Roman literature, with a break between the two acts during which the harlequinade's zany comic business was performed. The theatre historian David Mayer explains the use of the "batte" or slapstick and the
transformation scene that led to the harlequinade: Pantomime gradually became more topical and comic, often involving spectacular and elaborate theatrical effects as far as possible.
Colley Cibber,
David Garrick and others competed with Rich and produced their own pantomimes, and pantomime continued to grow in popularity.
1806–1836 By the early 1800s, the pantomime's classical stories were often supplanted by stories adapted from European
fairy tales,
fables,
folk tales, classic English literature or
nursery rhymes. Grimaldi's performances elevated the role by "acute observation upon the foibles and absurdities of society, and his happy talent of holding them up to ridicule. He is the finest practical satyrist that ever existed. ... He was so extravagantly natural, that the most saturnine looker-on acknowledged his sway; and neither the wise, the proud, or the fair, the young nor the old, were ashamed to laugh till tears coursed down their cheeks at Joe and his comicalities." Grimaldi's performances were important in expanding the importance of the harlequinade until it dominated the pantomime entertainment. By the 1800s, therefore, children went to the theatre around the Christmas and New Year holiday (and often at Easter or other times) primarily to witness the craziness of the harlequinade chase scene. It was the most exciting part of the "panto", because it was fast-paced and included spectacular scenic magic as well as
slapstick comedy, dancing and acrobatics. The presence of slapstick in this part of the show evolved from the characters found in Italian commedia dell'arte. In early pantomimes, Harlequin possessed magical powers that he used to help himself and his love interest escape. He would tap his wooden sword (a derivative of the Commedia dell'arte slapstick or "batte") on the floor or scenery to make a grand transition of the world around him take place. The scene would switch from being inside some house or castle to, generally speaking, the streets of the town with storefronts as the backdrop. The transformation sequence was presided over by a Fairy Queen or
Fairy Godmother character. After 1843, when theatres other than the original patent theatres were permitted to perform spoken dialogue, the importance of the silent harlequinade began to decrease, while the importance of the fairy-tale part of the pantomime increased. Two writers who helped to elevate the importance and popularity of the fairy-tale portion of the pantomime were
James Planché and
Henry James Byron. They emphasized puns and humorous word play, a tradition that continues in pantomime today. By the end of the 19th century, the harlequinade had become merely a brief epilogue to the pantomime, dwindling into a brief display of dancing and acrobatics. It lingered for a few decades longer but finally disappeared, although a few of its comic elements had been incorporated into the pantomime stories. Well-known pantomime artists of this era included
William Payne, his sons, the
Payne Brothers,
Vesta Tilley,
Dan Leno,
Herbert Campbell,
Little Tich, and
Cullen and Carthy. ==Modern traditions and conventions==